Change the Way You Think about Money

A few weeks ago I heard someone say this when teaching about finances: “When we change the way we think about money, it will change the way we handle money.” This statement made me stop and think because I realized that it is so true. I know that when I changed the way I thought about money it had a huge impact on how I handled it. Much research has been done to show the effect of your thinking on your actions and the corresponding results in your life. I won’t go into that here, but I’d like to offer a few examples of some thought patterns that could be changed for a better financial outlook.

Great post! It is so true that so often the prevailing mindset is what gets us into trouble. I especially like the “Can I afford it question?” It goes along with another Old Thought: “How much credit can I get approved for?”

So often poor people make poor choices. I had my daughter and boyfriend living with us to help them get a new start. His first check he bought a play station. I think he should have been saving for the future.

Here is a thought I have never forgotten and which I think about daily. At one time, in my 20s, I had a roommate who was much better at managing money than me. She was a real estate agent and in a down market, always had $$. I made $13,000 a year at that time-yes really! And struggled desperately to make ends met-I was a postdoctoral scientist. She said, “DS, the difference between you and me is that you try to live within your income and I try to make my income fit my expectations”. It was an eye opener. While she had many useful habits that allowed her to maximize the amount of $$ she had, this was the one thing I still recall and that I now aggressively use, ALONG WITH budgeting, to attain my financial goals-in my career-building my ability to compete for higher paying jobs for example.